Chapter 5: Threads
Overview
Multithreading Models
Threading Issues
Pthreads
Solaris 2 Threads
Windows 2000 Threads
Linux Threads
Java Threads
Operating System Concepts 5.1 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne 2002
Single and Multithreaded Processes
Operating System Concepts 5.2 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne 2002
Benefits
Responsiveness
Resource Sharing
Economy
Utilization of MP Architectures
Operating System Concepts 5.3 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne 2002
User Threads
Thread management done by user-level threads library
Examples
- POSIX Pthreads
- Mach C-threads
- Solaris threads
Operating System Concepts 5.4 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne 2002
Kernel Threads
Supported by the Kernel
Examples
- Windows 95/98/NT/2000
- Solaris
- Tru64 UNIX
- BeOS
- Linux
Operating System Concepts 5.5 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne 2002
Multithreading Models
Many-to-One
One-to-One
Many-to-Many
Operating System Concepts 5.6 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne 2002
Many-to-One
Many user-level threads mapped to single kernel thread.
Used on systems that do not support kernel threads.
Operating System Concepts 5.7 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne 2002
Many-to-One Model
Operating System Concepts 5.8 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne 2002
One-to-One
Each user-level thread maps to kernel thread.
Examples
- Windows 95/98/NT/2000
- OS/2
Operating System Concepts 5.9 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne 2002
One-to-one Model
Operating System Concepts 5.10 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne 2002
Many-to-Many Model
Allows many user level threads to be mapped to many
kernel threads.
Allows the operating system to create a sufficient
number of kernel threads.
Solaris 2
Windows NT/2000 with the ThreadFiber package
Operating System Concepts 5.11 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne 2002
Many-to-Many Model
Operating System Concepts 5.12 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne 2002
Threading Issues
Semantics of fork() and exec() system calls.
Thread cancellation.
Signal handling
Thread pools
Thread specific data
Operating System Concepts 5.13 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne 2002
Pthreads
a POSIX standard (IEEE 1003.1c) API for thread creation
and synchronization.
API specifies behavior of the thread library,
implementation is up to development of the library.
Common in UNIX operating systems.
Operating System Concepts 5.14 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne 2002
Solaris 2 Threads
Operating System Concepts 5.15 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne 2002
Solaris Process
Operating System Concepts 5.16 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne 2002
Windows 2000 Threads
Implements the one-to-one mapping.
Each thread contains
- a thread id
- register set
- separate user and kernel stacks
- private data storage area
Operating System Concepts 5.17 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne 2002
Linux Threads
Linux refers to them as tasks rather than threads.
Thread creation is done through clone() system call.
Clone() allows a child task to share the address space of
the parent task (process)
Operating System Concepts 5.18 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne 2002
Java Threads
Java threads may be created by:
Extending Thread class
Implementing the Runnable interface
Java threads are managed by the JVM.
Operating System Concepts 5.19 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne 2002
Java Thread States
Operating System Concepts 5.20 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne 2002
